A commencement address

On rewriting the rules, redefining ambition, and reclaiming the idea of America

In recent weeks, I was consumed by a daunting project: returning to my high school to deliver the commencement address.

More than with most exercises of this kind, I struggled and struggled over what to say. I wanted it to matter to these young people.

I was struck above all by this thought: to be a young person entering the adult world today is to know t…